Ball tossing game and methods of play

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to games and methods of playing the games, as well as kits for playing such games, and more particularly to ball toss games played on a playing field surface, by way of non-limiting example on a surface such as a turf field, tennis court, sand field or sand beach, for example.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/545,724 filed Oct. 11, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Playing sports along beaches, yards, and fields is a popularrecreational pastime which has the advantage of promoting good healththrough outdoor exercise. Common beach games include Volleyball,Football, Soccer, Baseball, Bocce Ball, and Frisbee. Although theseactivities are excellent forms of exercise for children and youngadults, the may not necessarily be suitable for all ages. This isespecially true for in the case of high intensity sports such asVolleyball, Football, and Soccer. It is also true in the case of BocceBall, which requires the participant to throw very heavy ballsconsiderable distances.

Therefore, there is a need for a game which can be played by all ages,wherein the use of a low weight ball, similar to a softball, enablesparticipants of any age or physical ability to partake.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to games and methods of playing the games,as well as kits for playing such games, and more particularly to balltoss games played on a playing field surface, by way of non-limitingexample on a surface such as a turf field, tennis court, sand field orsand beach, for example. In an embodiment, the invention comprises amethod of playing a game, the method comprising the steps of: providinga court having a boundary that defines a playing surface; providing atleast one hole in the playing surface; providing a game ball to a userlocated at a selected playing location on the court; and allowing theuser to take a turn, the turn comprising a toss, throw, or roll of thegame ball toward the hole from the selected playing location, whereinthe object is to score by landing the game ball in the hole.

In another embodiment, the invention comprises a kit for executing themethod of playing the game, the kit comprising at least one game ball,at least one hole apparatus, at least one apparatus for marking theboundaries of the court, at least one smoothing tool, and optionally acarry bag.

Additional embodiments and features will be apparent from thedescription, claims, and figures herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawing figures wherein like numerals denote like elements.

FIG. 1 is a bird's-eye-view of a game court layout in an embodiment,wherein the court includes two holes on opposite sides of a rectangularcourt formation.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a game court layout in a secondembodiment, wherein the court comprises a slope to increase the desireddifficulty of the game.

FIG. 3 is a bird's-eye-view of an alternative game court layoutcomprising a single hole, wherein players stand on the opposite side ofthe court to attempt to score goals.

FIG. 4 is a bird-s eye perspective view of a hole apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational perspective view of the hole apparatusembodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a bird's eye perspective view of game apparatus in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a bird's eye perspective view of a kit comprising the gameapparatus of FIG. 6 in an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The ensuing detailed description provides preferred exemplaryembodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability,or configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing detaileddescription of the preferred exemplary embodiments will provide thoseskilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing thepreferred exemplary embodiments of the invention. It being understoodthat various changes may be made in the function and arrangement ofelements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,as set forth in the appended claims.

To aid in describing the invention, directional terms are used in thespecification and claims to describe portions of the present invention(e.g., upper, lower, left, right, etc.). These directional definitionsare merely intended to assist in describing and claiming the inventionand are not intended to limit the invention in any way. In addition,reference numerals that are introduced in the specification inassociation with a drawing figure may be repeated in one or moresubsequent figures without additional description in the specificationin order to provide context for other features.

In some embodiments, elements shared with the first embodiment arerepresented by reference numerals increased by factors of 100. Forexample, the field 10 in FIGS. 1-2 corresponds to the field 110 in FIG.3. In the interest of clarity, some features of this embodiment that areshared with the first embodiment are numbered in other figures, but arenot repeated in the specification.

The invention generally relates to sports which can be played on a beachor other soft terrain. More particularly, the invention relates to agame which can be played on a beach, wherein the object of the game istoss, roll, or throw a ball into the target hole in order to scoregoals.

In an embodiment, the game is one of skill to be played between two orfour players on sand or other soft terrain, wherein players toss, roll,or throw a ball into one or more holes formed in the surface of a fieldor court (hereinafter commonly referred to as a “court”). The object isto score goals by having the ball land in any of the holes provided atthe opposite (distal) end of the court across from the tossing player.

The court is formed on a large surface of preferably flat ground,whether turf, sand, or otherwise. Most preferably, the surface is a softsurface (i.e. not bare concrete or bare asphalt). The surface canadditionally or alternatively be formed on slightly sloping terrain,such as in order to achieve a desired level of difficulty. In an exampleof a sloped surface embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a hole is placed in theapproximate center of either one or two opposite end boundaries of thecourt. However, other placements are possible, as well as the inclusionof more than one whole on each side of the court, in any number andcombination of hole sizes and locations. In such examples, the method ofplaying and scoring includes a different score value for each hole,which value corresponds to the difficulty of landing the game ball ineach hole. For example, a small diameter hole on a steep slope and theextreme opposite end of a court (or at the break of a slope) may have ascore value of 10 points, while a large diameter hole on a flat area ofthe court 10 and possibly closer than the opposite end line) may have avalue of 1 point.

In each embodiment, players roll, toss, or throw a game ball in anattempt to cause the ball to fall into a hole, such as a hole on theopposite end of the court, in order to score points. In games with teamsof two players, teammates preferably take turns in addition to each teamtaking turns. A team wins the match by scoring a predetermined number ofgoals, or a predetermined number of goal value points, before the otherteam.

By way of further example, FIG. 1 is bird's-eye-view of the originalcourt layout which requires two holes on opposite sides of a rectangularformation, the size of which can be adjusted to fit the desireddifficulty of the participants. Courts which are made to be long inlength, typically 30-40 feet, allow for increased difficulty and addedskill. Courts which are made to be mid-range length, typically 15-25feet, tend to be less difficult and more appealing to children 8 yearsand younger.

In another example of FIG. 2, a court is illustrated in a perspectiveview to show a court slope, the degree of which can be adjusted to fitthe desired difficulty for the players and participants. Courts whichare made on more severe inclines, typically 171-160 degrees, allow forincreased difficulty and added skill. Courts which are made on lesssever inclines, typically 180-170 degrees, allow for decreaseddifficulty and skill.

In still another example, shown in FIG. 3 is a bird's-eye-view of analternative court layout which only requires a single hole, the size ofwhich can be adjusted to fit the desired difficulty of the participants,who in this case would stand on the same side of the court to attempt toscore goals. Courts which are made to be long in length, typically 30-40feet, allow for increased difficulty and added skill. Courts which aremade to be mid-range length, typically 15-25 feet, tend to be lessdifficult and more appealing to children 8 years and younger.

In order to set up and play the game, several key items are needed,while others are helpful. A kit 80 can be provided with all necessaryitems (except the surface for court 10), and optionally with anyoptional items, as further described herein.

One necessary item is a game ball 20. The game ball 20 should be of asize and weight that is compatible with the size, skill, and strength ofthe user. The ball 20 should also be compatible with the surface of thecourt 10 so that the ball 20 maintains a consistent performancethroughout the game, without wearing down, or becoming heavier such asby absorbing water from a wet sand surface of a court 10, for example.Moreover, the ball 20 should be selected to be tossable for the fulllength of the court 10, while also being of a friction and weight so asto allow for rolling of the ball 20 by a player from one end line of thecourt to the opposite end line of the court 10. In an embodiment, thegame ball 20 is a standard softball or baseball. In other embodiments,the game ball 20 can include a croquet ball, bocce ball, volleyball,basketball, tennis ball, racquet ball, hand ball, golf ball, or anycommercially available game ball from a court sport or a field sport.

Another necessary item is a hole apparatus. The hole apparatus caninclude means for creating a hole 11 in a surface of the court 10. Insome embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-5, the hole apparatus is a circularhole frame 50. The frame 50 is designed to maintain the shape of a hole11 as a substantially perfect circle. In some embodiments, the frame 50can further include an extension member 52 that protrudes verticallydownward from the frame 50 and away from the surface of the court 10.The length of the extension member 52 is designed to be compatible withthe hardness, foliage, slope and other features of the surface of thecourt 10, so that the member 52 can be easily pressed down into thesurface of the court 10, preferably without requiring a hammer, suchthat the top surface of the frame 50 does not protrude more than an inchabove the surface of court 10, if it protrudes at all. An otheradvantage of the hole frame 50 is that, once pressed into the surface,it allows a user to dig out the entire court surface surrounded by theframe 50 to form the hole 11, with the extension member 52 preventingthe hole sides and adjacent surface from collapsing into the hole 11.

An optional item is a court string 14, as well as court stakes 12. Asshown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the court boundaries can be delineated byuse of stakes 12 and strings 14.

In a method of forming the court 10, a user would place at least 3stakes for a triangular court, (or 4 stakes for rectangular court, 5stakes for a pentaganol court, etc.), and then connect the stakes 12using the string 14 to form the outer boundaries of the court 10.Alternatively, the boundaries of court 10 can be scratched into a softcourt surface, and/or chalked and/or painted onto a court surface.

Another optional item is a smoothing tool 60, as shown in FIG. 6. Forexample, the smoothing tool 60 can be a rake, squeegee, or broom. Thepurpose of the smoothing tool 60 is to allow a user to restore the courtsurface to a desired state, whether at the beginning, during, or after agame is played on the court 10. For example, where the court 10 is wetsand, a sand rake can be used as a smoothing tool 60 between shots toremove from the court 10 any lines from rolled game balls and to removedents from tossed game balls.

Another optional item is a carry bag 70, as shown in FIG. 7. In anembodiment, the game bag is large enough to carry all game elementsexcept the court 10. The carry bag 70 is preferably comprised ofpermeable sidewalls, such as a netting material, to allow water, sand,and other contaminants to be shaken from the bag 70 and its contents.

In another embodiment, the invention comprises a kit for playing atossing game. In an example shown in FIG. 7, the kit 80 includes atleast one game ball 20, at least 3 stakes 30, at least one string 40, atleast one hole frame 50, and optionally a smoothing tool 60 and carrybag 70. Thus, the kit 80 includes everything a user would need to set upa court 10 in any location, and to play the games described herein.Optionally, the kit 80 may include written instructions for playing thegame, and optionally a scoring apparatus, such as a scorecard, scoringbook, abacus, or other known scoring devices. In an alternative method,the game methods involve scoring by simply writing the scores into thecourt or an adjacent surface, such as in the sand adjacent a sand court10. In this manner, the game can be played and the environment restoredafterwards, making the game environmentally and aesthetically acceptableanywhere.

While the principles of the invention have been described above inconnection with preferred embodiments, it is to be clearly understoodthat this description is made only by way of example and not as alimitation of the scope of the invention.

1. A method of playing a game, the method comprising the steps of:providing a court having a boundary that defines a playing surface;providing at least one hole in the playing surface; providing a gameball to a user located at a selected playing location on the court; andallowing the user to take a turn, the turn comprising a toss, throw, orroll of the game ball toward the hole from the selected playinglocation, wherein the object is to score by landing the game ball in thehole.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the court comprises at least oneof sand or turf.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the court comprisesat least two holes in the playing surface.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein at least two of the holes are located at opposite ends of thecourt, and wherein at least one playing location is located at each ofthe opposite ends of the court.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein themethod further comprises providing more than one user, and wherein eachuser alternates the taking of a turn.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereinthe method further comprises each user continuing to take a turn untilany user has landed the game ball in the hole a predetermined number oftimes.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the game ball is selected fromthe group consisting of baseballs, softballs, tennis balls, racquetballs, handballs, playground balls, bocce balls, croquet balls,basketballs, volleyballs, beach balls, field hockey balls, and lacrosseballs.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further includesallowing a user to smooth the playing surface during a game.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein method comprises providing a hole apparatusfor removably forming the hole in the playing surface.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the hole apparatus comprises a frame member.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the hole apparatus further comprises asidewall protruding downward from the frame member, the frame member andsidewall configured and arranged to allow a user to press the apparatusinto the playing surface, remove the playing surface enclosed by theframe member to a selected depth, and wherein the sidewall portionprevents collapse of the playing surface surrounding the apparatus. 12.The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of providing a kit, thekit comprising game apparatus for executing the method of playing thegame.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the kit comprises apparatusfor marking the boundaries of the court, and at least one holeapparatus.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the apparatus for markingthe boundaries of the court comprise temporary marking apparatus. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein the temporary marking apparatus compriseat least 3 stakes, and at least one string element for interconnectingthe stakes to form court boundaries.
 16. The method of claim 14, whereinthe hole apparatus of the kit comprises a frame member and a sidewallprotruding downward from the frame member, the frame member and sidewallconfigured and arranged to allow a user to press the apparatus into theplaying surface, remove the playing surface enclosed by the frame memberto a selected depth, and wherein the sidewall portion prevents collapseof the playing surface surrounding the apparatus.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the kit further comprises a game ball.
 18. The methodof claim 15, wherein the kit further comprises a smoothing tool, andwherein the kit optionally includes a carry bag for enclosing all gameapparatus.
 19. A kit for executing the method of playing the game ofclaim 1, the kit comprising at least one game ball, at least one holeapparatus, at least one apparatus for marking the boundaries of thecourt, at least one smoothing tool, and optionally a carry bag.
 20. Thekit of claim 19, wherein the kit comprises a carry bag, the carry bagmade of permeable material that allows water, sand, and othercontaminants to escape from the carry bag and its contents, such as by auser shaking the bag.